SIRIVANNAVARI Weaves Thai Craftsmanship Into the National Team’s Asian Games 2026 Uniforms

SIRIVANNAVARI brings Thai identity to the Asian Games stage in Nagoya

When more than 900 Thai athletes and team members step into the Opening Ceremony of the 20th Asian Games in Japan this September, they will be carrying more than the national colors with them.

Their official ceremonial uniforms, designed by SIRIVANNAVARI, will also bring the work of Thai textile artisans onto one of Asia’s biggest sporting stages.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana Rajakanya, Creative Director of SIRIVANNAVARI, was invited by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports to design the uniforms for Thailand’s national team at the Asian Games 2026, taking place in Nagoya, Japan, from 19 September to 4 October 2026.

Created under the concept “The Art of Unity,” the collection brings together contemporary fashion, traditional Thai craftsmanship and the practical considerations of dressing athletes for an international ceremony. At its heart are naturally indigo-dyed, handwoven cotton from the Donkoi Model in Sakon Nakhon and cotton textiles produced under the SUPPORT Foundation of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit The Queen Mother.

The result is a uniform designed not simply to identify Team Thailand, but to tell a wider story about the country and the people behind its craftsmanship.

The Art of Unity

SIRIVANNAVARI unveiled the ceremonial uniforms on 21 August 2026 at Fairmont Bangkok Sukhumvit with a campaign of photographs and video built around “The Art of Unity.”

The campaign brings together four current members of Thailand’s national team: badminton player Kunlavut Vitidsarn, taekwondo athlete Banlung Tubtimdang, women’s volleyball player Pimpichaya Kokram and table tennis player Suthasini Sawettabut.

They are joined by former Thai taekwondo athlete Panipak Wongpattanakit, whose achievements have made her one of the country’s most recognizable sporting figures.

But the campaign looks beyond the athletes to the people responsible for another essential part of the uniform: its fabric.

Artisans from Donkoi Model Village feature in the story alongside the athletes, drawing a parallel between two very different disciplines. Both elite sport and traditional weaving require patience, repetition, precision and years of developing a craft.

“Our involvement in creating the ceremonial uniforms for Thailand’s national team represents another significant opportunity for SIRIVANNAVARI to communicate the essence of Thailand to audiences around the world through the language of fashion,” said Ratirod Chulajata, Deputy CEO of SIRIVANNAVARI.

From Sakon Nakhon to Nagoya

The choice of material gives the uniforms a particularly strong connection to northeastern Thailand.

The Donkoi Model is a sustainable village development initiative in Sakon Nakhon Province, an area closely associated with indigo-dyed textiles and traditional weaving. Its naturally dyed, handwoven cotton forms a central element of the SIRIVANNAVARI designs, alongside cotton produced under the SUPPORT Foundation.

Rather than treating these traditional textiles simply as decorative additions, SIRIVANNAVARI incorporates them into contemporary tailoring.

The variations inherent in handmade fabric are part of the appeal. Individual pieces of Donkoi Model textile differ slightly in pattern and tone according to the techniques of the artisan who created them, meaning no two are completely identical.

Once those individual textiles are brought together to dress Thailand’s national team, their differences become an expression of the collection’s central idea: individual identities forming a unified whole. It is a fitting metaphor for hundreds of athletes representing different sports but competing under the same flag.

What Thailand’s Asian Games Uniform Looks Like

The ceremonial look consists of four principal pieces designed for male and female athletes.

The suit jacket is constructed from handwoven cotton in a signature SIRIVANNAVARI silhouette. Its three-pocket construction is complemented by buttons embossed with the fashion house’s logo.

Underneath, a white shirt features an elongated pointed collar and a specially embroidered chest panel. The detailing references the cultural connection between Thailand and Japan, bringing an element of the host country into the overall design.

The trousers take a more functional approach. Made from premium suiting fabric coordinated with the jacket, they incorporate openings at the hem and an adjustable waist fastening to provide greater comfort and freedom of movement. SIRIVANNAVARI’s signature peacock emblem adds a recognizable house detail.

The final touch is the necktie, styled with the “Diamond Knot,” another SIRIVANNAVARI signature. Together, the four elements demonstrate how traditional Thai textiles can move beyond their familiar contexts and into a contemporary international wardrobe.

When Fashion Becomes Cultural Diplomacy

The Asian Games uniform arrives as SIRIVANNAVARI continues to raise the international profile of Thai fashion, following the house’s appearances at Milan Fashion Week for two consecutive years.

This time, however, the runway is very different. The athletes wearing the clothes are representing Thailand rather than a fashion collection, making the uniforms a form of cultural communication in their own right. For audiences across Asia, the Opening Ceremony will offer a glimpse not only of Thailand’s sporting delegation but also of its textile heritage and contemporary design capabilities.

Minister of Tourism and Sports Surasak Phancharoenworakul described the collaboration as an opportunity to showcase Thailand’s fashion industry and textiles internationally, while presenting the country’s “identity, culture and traditional wisdom in a contemporary context.”

That balance between heritage and modernity runs throughout the collection. Instead of reproducing traditional Thai dress, SIRIVANNAVARI takes materials rooted in local communities and places them within the visual vocabulary of contemporary tailoring. The approach allows Thai craft to remain recognizable without being frozen in the past.

More Than a Uniform

Sports uniforms have an unusual job. They must bring hundreds of individuals together visually while simultaneously representing an entire country. For SIRIVANNAVARI, “The Art of Unity” turns that requirement into the collection’s central narrative.

The handmade variations in the fabric acknowledge individuality. The consistent tailoring creates unity. The Thai textiles speak to where the team comes from, while details referencing Japan recognize where the athletes are going.

And beneath all that symbolism, the clothes still need to work for the people wearing them. Comfort, mobility and practicality were considered alongside aesthetics and craftsmanship, ensuring the ceremonial pieces can function beyond the photographs surrounding their unveiling.

When Thailand’s delegation walks into the Asian Games 2026 Opening Ceremony in Nagoya, the moment will inevitably be about sport and national pride.

[PHOTO: Courtesy of SIRIVANNAVARI]